31 people were arrested yesterday for mortgage fraud in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. Federal prosecutors announced charges against 41 lenders, lawyers and others in the real estate industry.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement that he found it “especially alarming” that lawyers, loan officers and mortgage brokers treated their professions as a “license to loot banks and profit from other people’s pain.” Those charged also included an accountant and a residential property appraiser.
“The fraud schemes alleged in the cases unsealed today reflect a veritable smorgasbord of scams,” Mr. Bharara said during a news conference in Lower Manhattan. “Whether the economy was going up or the economy was going down, these alleged fraudsters were working feverishly to game the system.”
Authorities said the arrests resulted from a series of investigations conducted by state and local authorities along with federal prosecutors, the FBI, the New York State Banking Department, federal housing authorities, the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Postal Service investigators.
Most of the bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges brought against the defendants carry potential prison terms of 20 to 30 years each.
